William Henry Hudson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Henry Hudson
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William Henry Hudson
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| Born | 4 August 1841 Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
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| Died | 18 August 1922 (aged 81) Kensington, London, England
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| Nationality | English Argentine |
| Known for | Green Mansions (novel) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Natural history Ornithology |
William Henry Hudson (born August 4, 1841 – died August 18, 1922) was a famous writer and expert on nature. He was born in Argentina but later moved to England. In Argentina, people often called him Guillermo Enrique Hudson. He was known for his books about nature and his novels. He loved studying natural history and ornithology, which is the study of birds.
Contents
His Life Story
William Henry Hudson was born in Argentina. His parents, Daniel and Catherine Hudson, were settlers from the United States. They had English and Irish family roots. He was born on a small farm called "25 Ombues" in what is now Ingeniero Allan, Argentina.
In 1846, his family moved to a pulpería, which was a country store and tavern. It was near the city of Chascomús. In this wild natural area, young Hudson spent his time. He studied the local plants and animals. He also watched the interesting events of life on the frontier. He wrote about birds for a science group called the Royal Zoological Society. He especially loved the wild region of Patagonia.
Hudson moved to England in 1874. He lived in Bayswater, London, for most of his life. In 1876, he married Emily Wingrave, who was his landlady and a former singer. They did not have any children. Hudson became a British citizen in 1900. He earned his living by writing and working as a journalist.
Hudson was friends with another English writer, George Gissing. They met in 1889 and wrote letters to each other. They talked about books, science, and how they could get books and newspapers.
In 1911, Emily Hudson became ill and moved to Worthing. Hudson lived separately from her for health reasons. But they visited often and cared for each other.
William Henry Hudson passed away on August 18, 1922, in London. He was buried next to his wife in Worthing, England. She had died a year earlier.
Famous Books and Writings
Hudson wrote many books about birds and nature. Some of his early works include Argentine Ornithology (1888–1899) and British Birds (1895). Later, he became very famous for his books about the English countryside. These include Hampshire Days (1903), Afoot in England (1909), and A Shepherd's Life (1910). These books helped people want to connect more with nature.
His most famous novel is Green Mansions (1904). This book was even made into a film starring Audrey Hepburn. His best-known non-fiction book is Far Away and Long Ago (1918). This book was also made into a film.
His Ideas About Nature
Hudson had his own ideas about how living things change over time. He supported a view called Lamarckism, which was different from Darwinism. He also believed in something called vitalism. This idea suggests that living things have a special life force. He was an early member of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This group works to protect birds.
How He Is Remembered
There is a special place in Hyde Park, London, called the Hudson Memorial Bird Sanctuary. It has a stone carving by Sir Jacob Epstein. This carving shows Rima, a nature goddess from Hudson's novel Green Mansions.
Famous author Ernest Hemingway mentioned Hudson's books in his own novels. He suggested Far Away and Long Ago as a good book for young writers to read.
Another writer, James Rebanks, was inspired by Hudson's book A Shepherd's Life. Rebanks said that Hudson's book made him love books even more. It also showed him that ordinary lives could be written about in great books.
In Argentina, William Henry Hudson is seen as an important national writer. Many places are named after him, including the town of Hudson in Buenos Aires Province.
List of His Works
- The Purple Land that England Lost: Travels and Adventures in the Banda Oriental, South America (1885)
- A Crystal Age (1887)
- Argentine Ornithology (1888)
- Fan–The Story of a Young Girl's Life (1892)
- The Naturalist in la Plata (1892)
- Idle Days in Patagonia (1893)
- Birds in a Village (1893)
- Lost British Birds (1894), a small book
- British Birds (1895)
- Osprey; or, Egrets and Aigrettes (1896)
- Birds in London (1898)
- Nature in Downland (1900)
- Birds and Man (1901)
- El Ombú (1902), stories; later called South American Sketches
- Hampshire Days (1903)
- Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest (1904)
- A Little Boy Lost (1905)
- Land's End. A Naturalist's Impressions in West Cornwall (1908)
- Afoot in England (1909)
- A Shepherd's Life: Impressions of the South Wiltshire Downs (1910)
- Adventures Among Birds (1913)
- Tales of the Pampas (1916)
- Far Away and Long Ago – A History of My Early Life (1918)
- The Book of a Naturalist (1919)
- Birds in Town and Village (1919)
- Birds of La Plata (1920) (two books)
- Dead Man's Plack and An Old Thorn (1920)
- A Traveller in Little Things (1921)
- Tired Traveller (1921), an essay
- Seagulls in London. Why They Took To Coming To Town (1922), an essay
- A Hind in Richmond Park (1922)
- The Collected Works (1922–23), 24 books
- 153 Letters from W.H. Hudson (1923)
- Rare Vanishing & Lost British Birds (1923)
- Ralph Herne (1923)
- Men, Books and Birds (1925)
- The Disappointed Squirrel (1925)
- Mary's Little Lamb (1929)
- South American Romances (1930)
- W.H. Hudson's Letters to R. B. Cunninghame Graham (1941)
- Tales of the Gauchos (1946)
- Letters on the Ornithology of Buenos Ayres (1951)
- Diary Concerning his Voyage from Buenos Aires to Southampton on the Ebro (1958)
- Gauchos of the Pampas and Their Horses (1963)
- English Birds and Green Places: Selected Writings (1964) ISBN: 0-575-07207-5
- Birds of A Feather: Unpublished Letters of W.H. Hudson (1981)
- Landscapes and Literati: Unpublished letters of W.H. Hudson and George Gissing (1985)
See also
In Spanish: Guillermo Enrique Hudson para niños
